Marked increased in TCH patient satisfaction

The most recent report on patient satisfaction levels at Canberra Hospital shows a marked increase in satisfaction in the areas of overall care, general patient information, complaints management, discharge and follow up care, ACT Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher MLA, said today.

Ms Gallagher was commenting on the report of the sixth wave of the Patient Satisfaction Monitor survey conducted at Canberra Hospital between March 2009 and June 2009.

“The majority of patients who responded to the survey were highly satisfied with their overall hospital experience,” Ms Gallagher said.

“When asked to think about all aspects of their hospital stay, 96 per cent of patients reported that they were either very satisfied (71 per cent - up 9 per cent from the last survey) or fairly satisfied (25 per cent).

“The hospital performed very well on aspects of care such as courtesy and helpfulness of the staff, responsiveness and treating people with respect.

“The report also provides opportunities for improvement including explanations of hospital routines and procedures, the restfulness of the hospital and the temperature of the hot meals.”

Ms Gallagher said the survey was conducted by Ultrafeedback which had been contracted by Canberra Hospital to collect, analyse and report data for the Patient Satisfaction Monitor.

“The results of these reports will be trended over time and will enable Canberra Hospital to monitor its performance and benchmark results against similar large and regional Victorian public hospitals,” Ms Gallagher said.

“This patient feedback is vital to improving our care and services and we are grateful to the patients who took the time and effort to complete the survey.”

Areas where TCH performed well:

(Satisfaction that rated 90% or above)

1. Recovery room                                                                                    90%
2. Courtesy of nurses                                                                              96%
3. Courtesy of doctors                                                                             96%
4. Helpfulness of staff in general                                                           96%
5. Help given for pain                                                                             98%
6. Respect for privacy                                                                             94%
7. Respect for culture or religious needs                                               94%
8. Personal safety                                                                                   97%
9. Treating people with respect                                                              96%
10. Response of staff to health care problems                                        90%

Areas where TCH can make improvements:

(Satisfaction that rated below 80%)

1. Waiting room comfort                                                             71%
2. Facilities for storing belongings                                                         74%
3. Explanation of routine & procedures(visiting hours, meals, doctors visits)  76%
4. Time waiting for a bed                                                                        72%
5. Explanation of medicines side effects                                               75%
6. Cleanliness of showers and toilets                                                    76%
7. Temperature of hot meals                                                                  77%
8. Quality of food                                                                                    66%
9. Restfulness of hospital                                                                       68%
10. Privacy of room                                                                                   73%

The results of the survey have been benchmarked against 12 similar sized public Victorian hospitals.

26 December 2009